Which God am I getting? - Haftarah Shemini

II Samuel 6:1-7:17

This week’s Haftarah begins with David contemplating whether or not to bring the Ark of the Covenant into his city. He has to make this decision because of two very interesting events.

First, Uzziah, in trying to save the Ark from falling, grabs hold of the Ark, a big no-no. God gets angry and strikes him down on the spot because of his disrespect.

This leads David to think that the Ark of God is dangerous and only brings calamity. Would you bring that into your house?

Next, David sends the Ark to Obed-Edom’s place. There, God blesses Obed-Edom for taking care of the Ark.

This leads David to want to bring the Ark into his city, since God causes blessing.

Which God is David going to get?

Do we get to pick and choose the God that we want? Can we accept the God of blessing and eschew the God of curses?

David ultimately brings the Ark into his city, in fits of dancing and joy. His wife is none too happy about his display.

At the end of the Haftarah, God’s multi-faceted nature is again on display. God grants David a kingship that will last for all time, but does not allow him to build the Temple for God.

Which God did David get?

As we continue through this period of the Omer, waiting patiently for God’s revelation, we should consider what it is we expect from God and whether or not we should expect anything in particular in the first place.

Shabbat Shalom

God is With Us – Haftarah First Day of Pesach

Isaiah 43:1-15 (Reform)
(Traditional Reading: Joshua 5:2-6:1, 6:27)

“Have no fear, for I am with you. אַל-תִּירָא כִּי-אִתְּךָ-אָנִי God speaks these words to the people as a whole in this morning’s passage from Isaiah. God promises to ingather the exiles from the east, the west, the north and the south. In a time of Exile in Bavel, the people need to hear that there is hope that they will return to their homeland. In a fitting connection to our celebration this week, Isaiah reminds the people that God is with them to protect them when they walk through fire and when they pass through rivers. God is with Israel. כִּי-אִתְּךָ-אָנִי.

This phrase however is meant to evoke more than just a connection to the Israelites that are dispersed throughout the ancient world. There is a connection to history here that is not to be forgotten. There is a connection to the past. Each of the three patriarchs received this same blessing. Each was told not to fear, for God is with them. In a stunning example of Zechut Avot, the merit of the ancestors, God takes this phrase, which has had specific individual meaning for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and makes it communal. God mimics the promises to the ancestors in the language.

Abraham is told not to fear in Genesis 15. God tells Avram, as he is known at that point, not to fear because God will be his shield. Abram demands to know why he has no children, no one to carry on the name and the faith. All he has is his servant, Eliezer. God takes Avram out to look at the stars and tells him to count the stars, for his offspring shall be that numerous. God’s promise of not to fear in this case has to do with a connection to the future of the people. You will have a progeny. You will have a family. You will have someone to teach your traditions to.

Isaac is told not to fear in Genesis 26. Do not fear, for I am with you is followed by Avimelech the king of the Philistines coming to Isaac to make a treaty with him. Avimelech had seen that God was with Isaac and wanted to extend a hand in friendship based on the fact that so far, neither had done anything bad to the other. Isaac accepts this treaty and together they swear an oath of peace and have a feast. This scene ends with an immediate discovery of water in a well. God’s promise based on the phrase not to fear in this case has to do with peace and sustenance.

Jacob is told not to fear in chapter 46. God tells Jacob not to fear going down to Egypt, for Jacob will become a great nation there. God will be with Jacob and his family when they go down and when they come back up. This phrase of not to fear is a promise that God will be with the people in good times and in bad and that God is looking out for the people Israel even as they leave the land that has been promised to them. This scene is followed by a list of the families that went down to Egypt with Jacob.

And then we get back to Isaiah. Our phrase, fear not for I am with you, is found in our Haftarah this morning as well as two chapters earlier. Other than that, it is only found in conjunction with Abraham Isaac and Jacob. God’s words through Isaiah are meant to remind us of what God did for our ancestors. They are meant to remind the people, exiled in Bavel, that God will provide a future for our people. God will provide protection, peace and sustenance for our people. God will be with us in the good times and the bad.

No where is this more exemplified than in the story of the Exodus that we recall this week. God remembers the promise of a future and redeems the people from slavery. That would have been enough. But God also gives manna from heaven and provides us safe passage through the wilderness. That would have been enough. But ultimately, God is with us in the wilderness, as well as when we get to the Promised Land. God is a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. That would have been enough, too. But do not fear, because the work of the Lord is not yet done. God will return us from our exile in triumph. God will bring us back together as a people to Jerusalem.

Though we may find ourselves in the wilderness from time to time, God is with us. Though we may be wading through mud, God is with us. Though we may be singed by fires, God is with us. God’s promises to our ancestors are also promises to us. And, just like them, we may not fully live to see their fruits in this world, but that does not make them any less of a promise. Our Haftarah ends with God’s words to us. “אֲנִי יְהֹוָה קְדוֹשְׁכֶם. I am Adonai, your holy one. בּוֹרֵא יִשְֹרָאֵל מַלְכְּכֶם, the creator of Israel, your king.” By saying your holy one and your king, God reminds us of the covenant that started with Abram, that worked its way through Isaac and Jacob, through the slavery in Egypt and the exile in Bavel and through the diaspora to today. Isaiah’s message from God to us is that God is still with us.

God recognizes imperfection – Haftarah HaGadol

Malachi 3:4-24

This week, Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat before Passover, we read from Malachi about redemption of all kinds. Embedded in this message is an interesting line about God’s view of the world and God’s compassion for the human condition.

Let’s expound on verses 13-18: (original in Italics)

You have spoken hard words against Me — said the Lord.

Often, we think God is not listening to us, and doesn’t hear our questions about the unfairness in the world. Malachi is telling us this is not the case.

But you ask, "What have we been saying among ourselves against You?"

God hears us. What is interesting about this verse is that the people think that it might be better to play dumb, to play tam, if you will in this season of Passover, and pretend that they had not spoken out against God. This is empowering because God is about to tell us that we are heard. God is telling us that we are in a relationship where we can be honest. God is also telling us that we sometimes act like a kid that spilled something and pretends not to have done it.

You have said, "It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His charge and walking in abject awe of the Lord of Hosts? And so, we account the arrogant happy: they have indeed done evil and endured; they have indeed dared God and escaped."

This is a valid complaint. We see all around us people who win despite being unethical and people who prosper from corruption. It’s not fair and we demand from God some explanation. The world around us is filled with injustice. It’s sometimes enough to cause a crisis of faith. It’s sometimes enough to question either God’s existence or the efficacy of worship. This seems to be a very modern concern. We assume that ancient peoples believed with complete faith in God. Here, Malachi is telling us that there was questioning. Moreover, God seems to be ok with the question and recognizes where the question is coming from.

In this vein have those who revere the Lord been talking to one another. The Lord has heard and noted it, and a scroll of remembrance has been written at His behest concerning those who revere the Lord and esteem His name.

Similarly to the story of Passover, God hears the cries of the people of Israel and responds. Also similar, God sends a deliverer. In this case, Malachi prophesies the return of Elijah as the harbinger of better times.

And on the day that I am preparing, said the Lord of Hosts, they shall be My treasured possession; I will be tender toward them as a man is tender toward a son who ministers to him. And you shall come to see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him who has served the Lord and him who has not served Him.

God has taken stock of his people. God knows who the good ones are and who the bad.

What might speak to us in the modern condition, when we so often feel the absence of God, is the fact that this passage doesn’t make it sound like God will come and punish the wicked tomorrow. There is a recognition that God is not always acting in the way that we want.

I imagine the Israelites in Egypt, enslaved and wondering where their God was. I imagine them asking these questions as well. The Egyptians don’t pray the right way, and look what they get. They get all the riches and a kingdom and a king and we’re slaves. Where is our God?

Without going too far to the “God is always with you” line, I think it is important to say that the question where is God is not something that we should be afraid of asking, particularly when we read about all the wonderful and awesome acts that God did for us as we were leaving Egypt.

The Seder, after all, is a time to ask questions.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!